These sixty words cover most of a first conversation: introducing yourself, asking questions, counting, and saying what you want or don't. Memorise them in sentences, not as a list; each group below ends with an example you can use straight away.
Greetings and politeness
| Characters | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|
| 你好 | nǐ hǎo | hello |
| 谢谢 | xièxie | thank you |
| 不客气 | bú kèqi | you're welcome |
| 对不起 | duìbuqǐ | sorry |
| 没关系 | méi guānxi | it's fine / no problem |
| 再见 | zàijiàn | goodbye |
| 请 | qǐng | please |
| 早安 | zǎo ān | good morning |
Pronouns and key words
| Characters | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|
| 我 | wǒ | I / me |
| 你 | nǐ | you |
| 他 / 她 | tā | he / she |
| 我们 | wǒmen | we / us |
| 这 | zhè | this |
| 那 | nà | that |
| 是 | shì | to be |
| 不 | bù | not |
| 有 | yǒu | to have / there is |
| 没有 | méiyǒu | don't have / there isn't |
| 的 | de | possessive particle ('s) |
| 吗 | ma | question particle |
Numbers 1–10
| Characters | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|
| 一 | yī | one |
| 二 | èr | two |
| 三 | sān | three |
| 四 | sì | four |
| 五 | wǔ | five |
| 六 | liù | six |
| 七 | qī | seven |
| 八 | bā | eight |
| 九 | jiǔ | nine |
| 十 | shí | ten |
Numbers above ten just combine: 十一 shíyī (11), 二十 èrshí (20), 二十五 èrshíwǔ (25), 一百 yìbǎi (100).
Everyday verbs
| Characters | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|
| 吃 | chī | to eat |
| 喝 | hē | to drink |
| 去 | qù | to go |
| 来 | lái | to come |
| 看 | kàn | to look / to read |
| 说 | shuō | to speak |
| 听 | tīng | to listen |
| 学 | xué | to learn |
| 买 | mǎi | to buy |
| 要 | yào | to want / to need |
| 想 | xiǎng | would like / to think |
| 喜欢 | xǐhuan | to like |
| 会 | huì | can (know how to) |
| 知道 | zhīdào | to know |
| 工作 | gōngzuò | to work / job |
Question words
| Characters | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|
| 什么 | shénme | what |
| 谁 | shéi | who |
| 哪里 | nǎlǐ | where |
| 什么时候 | shénme shíhou | when |
| 为什么 | wèishénme | why |
| 怎么 | zěnme | how |
| 多少 | duōshao | how much / how many |
| 几 | jǐ | how many (small numbers) |
The most frequent nouns
| Characters | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|
| 人 | rén | person |
| 朋友 | péngyou | friend |
| 家 | jiā | home / family |
| 水 | shuǐ | water |
| 饭 | fàn | rice / a meal |
| 钱 | qián | money |
| 时间 | shíjiān | time |
| 今天 | jīntiān | today |
| 明天 | míngtiān | tomorrow |
| 中文 | Zhōngwén | Chinese (language) |
| 英文 | Yīngwén | English |
Put them into sentences
- 我是学生。Wǒ shì xuésheng. — I am a student.
- 我想学中文。Wǒ xiǎng xué Zhōngwén. — I want to learn Chinese.
- 这个多少钱？Zhège duōshao qián? — How much is this?
- 你明天去哪里？Nǐ míngtiān qù nǎlǐ? — Where are you going tomorrow?
- 我喜欢吃饭。Wǒ xǐhuan chī fàn. — I like eating.
Save these words to My Vocab on Mixora AI: spaced repetition brings back the ones you still forget and rests the ones you already know.
